KARACHI, July 2: The Karachi Electric Supply Corporation claimed on Wednesday that it was facing a great difficulty in maintaining normal power supply to parts of SITE area, Nazimabad, Old Golimar and Pak Colony due to the breakdown of Baldia-SITE 132 KV extra high tension circuits.

However, calling from many localities of the city residents told Dawn that power breakdowns had started in the early hours of Wednesday and continued till the evening.

A KESC spokesman said: “One of the circuits was already under maintenance since Tuesday afternoon and the entire power load of both the circuits was running along one line. At 2.25am on Wednesday the other circuit also collapsed, disrupting power supply from six grid stations out of 52 supplying electricity to the city.”

The spokesman said that the affected grids were Mauripur, West Wharf, SITE, Lyari, Haroonabad and Baldia. However, work on the broken line started immediately and one of the circuits was energized by 10.30am, resuming power supply to the affected areas, he added.

The press release said: “The situation aggravated while repairing the second Baldia-SITE circuit because at a distance of about one-and-a-half kilometres from Baldia grid a mosque, Masjid Amir Maavia, and some houses have been built under the EHT circuit, which were posing a danger, and the minaret of the mosque was obstructing the repair work. The custodian of the mosque and the residents of the area were first persuaded and the minaret of the mosque was removed with due reverence to repair the other conductor.”

Hourly shutting down of power supply feeders also had to be carried out at Gulshan, Civic Centre and Liaquatabad grid stations as another EHT line’s red face conductor was broken. The area load was shifted on to the KDA-Gulshan line to maintain power supply to the area. Both the EHT circuits Baldia- SITE and Gulshan-Johar were rehabilitated by 6pm, the press release said.